Johnston, Fergus
Johnston, Fergus
Johnston, Fergus, Irish composer; b. Dublin, May 21, 1959. He was educated in Dublin, where he took a music degree from Trinity Coll. (1982) and then studied composition with James Wilson at the Royal Irish Academy of Music. From 1989 to 1991 he was chairman of the Assn. of Irish Composers. In 1992 he was elected a member of Aosdâna, Ireland’s state-sponsored academy of creative artists. Johnston’s music explores the sonic potentials of sound.
Works
dramatic:Signals!, ballet music for Violin (1989); Bitter Fruit, chamber opera (Dublin, Nov. 17, 1992). o r c h.:Samsara (Dublin, June 14, 1991); Flute Concerto (1996; rev. version, Dublin, Jan. 17, 1997); Le goûte le jeu…for Strings (1997); Wind Sym. (1998). CHAMBER: Brass Quintet (1985); Prelude and Passacaglia for Violin (1987); Kaleidoscope for String Quartet, Harp, and Percussion (1992); Cusp for Violin and piano (1992); Rashad’s Words for Percussion (1999). Piano: Cam for 2 Pianos (1993); 3 Pieces (1994–95). VOCAL: 3 Songs for Soprano, Flute, Clarinet, and Bassoon, after e. e. cummings (1981; rev. 1982).
—Laura Kuhn/Dennis McIntire